Top athletes target for Commonwealth Games

The Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive David Grevemberg believes top athletes such as Jamaican sprint champion Usain Bolt and long and middle distance champion Mo Farah need to have incentives to compete at the Commonwealth Games.

Usain Bolt wins World 100m title Beijing 2015. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Farah and Bolt, who have both competed at the recent Athletics World Championships in Beijing, were notable omissions from last year's Glasgow Games.

While Bolt didn't compete in the 100m and 200m men's sprint championships, he did compete in the 4x100m men's relay.

The CGA General Assembly is in Auckland this week for a two-day conference where the Commonwealth nations and territories will discuss proposals that includes a compulsary and optional sports programme from 2022 onwards.

Mo Farah of Great Britain celebrates after a
10000m final win at a Moscow meet in 2013. Photo: Photosport

Federation chief executive David Grevemberg said the Commonwealth Games must create a mechanism that encourages top athletes such as Bolt and Farrah to compete at the games.

"It's an engagement that starts not just six weeks before the event but actually can start a year or two before the event when they're achieving and being designated as top level athletes and we can start to court that process towards the games and get the games on their trajectory."

"One of the aspects that we are exploring is that being a commonwealth athlete is not just about high performance, it's about athletes that achieve greatness but also have an enormous impact on their communities and the citizens of the Commonwealth."